21/10/2013 18:23
Up to 6 killed in suicide attack in Russia’s Volgograd
Officials in Russia said that up to six people may have been killed Monday after a bus in the southern city of Volgograd was hit by what investigators say was a suicide bombing attack, RIA Novosti reported.
News of the terrorist attack will reawaken security concerns as Russia prepares to hold the Winter Olympics early next year in the city of Sochi.
Investigators said the attack was carried out by a 30-year old woman from Russia's restive North Caucasus republic of Dagestan, which has been riven by Islamist-inspired violence for more than a decade.
Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said that, according to eyewitnesses, the explosion took place “almost immediately after” the woman got on the bus.
Russian officials said that the death toll was between five and six people.
“Fragments of an explosive device have been found at the scene of the blast,” a local law enforcement source in the city of Volgograd told RIA Novosti.
Earlier reports had suggested the explosion could have been due to the faulty fuel feeding system in the bus.
As of 4:05 pm local time, 27 people had been taken to hospital, including eight in serious condition, a city public health official told RIA Novosti. Around 50 people were believed to be riding the bus at the time of the explosion.